Grub Street Abroad: Aspects of the French Cosmopolitan Press from the Age of Louis XIV to the French Revolution (Lyell Lectures)

Eighteenth-century French readers who wanted to keep up with political and literary trends, had to rely on books and journals imported from abroad. French writers, such as Voltaire and Rousseau, also depended on foreign firms to get their works in print. Grub Street Abroad demonstrates the importance of extraterritorial publishing for the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. By placing the periphery at the center of the stage, it highlights neglected cosmopolitan aspects of an emergent "public sphere" and points to forces which undercut Bourbon claims of cultural hegemony. Firms serving French markets from abroad are viewed as part of a far-flung communications network which, although sensitive to diplomatic pressures from diverse courts, still comprised a relatively autonomous, independent field of operations. Topics covered include the publishing and editing of francophone journals and clandestine manuscripts; the emergence of the book review and the editorial board; the reliance of the philosophes upon foreign firms; and the cosmopolitan outlook of so-called "Grub Street hacks."